Wine lovers can enjoy early fall in the Sierra at the 23rd annual Alpen Wine Festival on Sept. 4 from 2-5pm at the Village at Squaw Valley.

All proceeds from the festival benefit Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, a national nonprofit organization sponsoring lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners.

For a $40 donation, guests can enjoy wine from more than 40 Northern California vineyards as live jazz from the Jackie Landrum Band and the Tristan Selzler Trio is played.

Guests can peruse the silent auction and raffle, which includes Squaw Valley lodging packages, shopping sprees, restaurant gift certificates, lift tickets, art and unique wines by the bottle and case.

Last year the Alpen Wine Festival raised more than $25,000 for Can Do MS.

Tickets for the event will be available on site at 1pm. The majority of wines served at the event will be available for purchase at Uncorked at Squaw in the Village at Squaw Valley.

By Reno Gazette-Journal

Two female bears have been harvested on the opening weekend of Nevada’s first-ever bear hunts, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

NDOW spokesman Chris Healy said one bear was taken on Saturday in the foothills above Verdi.

A second bear was taken Sunday in the Pine Nut Mountains southeast of Gardnerville.

Healy said the season will be closed as soon as six female bears, or 20 bears total have been harvested.

Since NDOW biologists determined Nevada’s population of bears was stable enough to permit a hunt – and the Nevada Wildlife Commission approved the hunt – it has had vocal opposition.

Forty-one hunters drew tags for the opportunity to harvest a bear. Open areas include the Carson Range near Lake Tahoe, in the Sweetwater Range, the Pine Nut Mountains and similar areas of western Nevada.

Read the whole story

Dennis is one of several adorable kittens looking for a new family. He is as sweet and playful as you can imagine.

The shelter is continuing its kitten and adult cat special adoption program – adoption fees through August are half price, so only $40.

Dennis is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

• A fundraiser for the Marie Hanson Search Fund is Aug. 24 at Brothers Bar & Grill (888 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe) starting at 5pm. The South Lake Tahoe resident was last seen in Washington on July 10.

• South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center annual gala is Sept. 17.

• Nevada is one of five states where Wells Fargo will test a $3 monthly fee for its debit cards starting in October. The other states are Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington,

• The Timber Cove lodging property in South Lake Tahoe is for sale.

• Rent My Vacation Home dot com is opening stores for each of its 83 websites, including in Stateline. Homeowners and vacationers can book the home by this system just like a hotel in the area. Rent A Lake Tahoe Vacation Home dot com store will create 10 jobs.

By Susan Wood

Summer in South Tahoe transforms this small town to a major tourist destination. The traffic has visibly picked up in August, reminiscent of the days when the population would swell to more than 100,000 – more than three times its standard rate.

For that, it was good to see a “No Vacancy” sign flash outside The Station House Inn on Park Avenue, an ideal launching pad to the outdoor concert series in the Harveys parking lot. It was perfect to be able to walk to the Miranda Lambert concert on Friday.

Lakeside Beach is one of the few in Tahoe with a lifeguard. Photos/Kathryn Reed

To make a weekend out of it, a seven-minute walk provides access to the Heavenly Mountain Resort gondola and the Lakeside Beach going the other direction.

Heavenly just expanded its summer activities at the adventure park, including tubing. From there, the hiking trails have extended to the highest point of the ski resort at the top of Sky Express. The views off the California Trail ridge are nothing less than Heavenly. Read more about this on Aug. 28 on Lake Tahoe News.

With the Best Western Station House Inn stay, R&R has also been expanded to recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. Moreover, the location brings a quiet reprieve to the hustle and bustle of Highway 50. The 99 rooms – which start at $109 on weekdays and $169 on weekends — are common with tired décor by most standards.

Nonetheless, the motel provides a good bang-for-the-buck bargain with a complimentary full breakfast staged at the dinner house named after a combination of the Willorford family’s original owners who owned LewMarNel’s and the Station House Inn. (Recommended: the blueberry pancakes are worth ordering with a generous helping of fruit cooked in the batter. The eggs with potatoes hit the spot when you’re hungry.) The wait staff is professional, courteous, responsive and friendly.

“It’s good for my golf game,” waiter Brad said of the job. He’s worked there 15 of the 35 years he’s resided in Tahoe. Even though only two of the 97 parties the restaurant served that morning were not staying at the motel, the restaurant stays busy. After breakfast, the ever-hungry may order lunch and drinks like a $6 mojito by the pool just below the restaurant. The smoker sends the smell of charcoal hovering over the patio. Pure summer.

For evening starters, the tiny bar inside LewMarNel’s opens at 4:30pm – where Terry and Susan Canale of Ione awaited their night out to see Miranda Lambert with their daughter Marcie, a Tahoe local. The Canales said they always stay at the Station House Inn because of the value – meaning the breakfast and proximity to the beach.

“We come here every year to see a concert,” Terry Canale said.

“And it’s a really nice get away in the winter,” his wife added. She likes to thaw out with the cheese fondue at LewMarNel’s for dinner.

To some, the warmth in winter may be more of the draw to the American and cheddar cheese fondue than the taste. This opener to a dinner meal at LewMarNel’s set the stage for an overpriced, oversalted trip into the 1980s as shown by old reviews on the wall. Kae and I can easily pass on a second visit. We both received a month’s worth of sodium on my broccoli and her oily $17 pasta primavera, the only vegetarian option on the menu. Sadly, my petite filet mignon was OK, but worth maybe half of its $34 price tag.

Restaurant aside, the grounds and location of the Station House Inn property make up for dinner inadequacies. Serenity beckons a guest from the room just steps away from the pool and hot tub patio.

Plus, the motel offers sun bathers easy access to a restricted beach next to the Lakeside Marina. If you’re not into power boating, the beach is filled with activities including kayaks to rent. A children’s play area and swing set flank both sides of the beach, and a volleyball court welcomes the big kids.

Others just wanting to kick back may rent umbrellas to hang out at the beach, which is monitored by lifeguards until 5pm. They announce their departure and welcome beachgoers to stay, albeit safely at the shore.

If you go:

Lakeside Marina, beach and restaurant are located at the end of Park Avenue in South Lake Tahoe next to Stateline. It’s free for hotel guests, with a fee for others.

The Best Western Station House Inn sits halfway between the marina and Heavenly Village on Highway 50.

The Heavenly Gondola runs from 10am-5pm, seven days a week.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

To the community,

The honeymoon is over. The city manager, Mr. [Tony] O’Rourke, has been here a year and City Council has been intact for nine months. But things are the same, SNAFU. Example: The council, while employees continue to be dismissed, gave the city attorney a raise and other goodies which should cause sober people to blush. Also, the finance officer got a bump in pay.

And Councilmember [Bruce] Grego gets a gold star for being the loudest loose cannon in the basin. And Ms. [Claire] Fortier appears to be in conflict serving on the TRPA board. And [Angela] Swanson serves as a consultant for the school district. Remember the city manager was willing to give the school district $250,000 while firing employees. As for the old hands, [Hal] Cole and [Tom] Davis, who knows who pulls their strings?

Bill Crawford

Pretty soon if the city manager keeps contracting pieces of the city out, i.e. the ice rink and he wants to do so with the campground an the golf course (and what else, who knows?). Combine the frenzy to contract pieces of the city out and the shrinking city workforce, there won’t be a city to manage which may be the whole point.

The word from the underground is that much of the city operation is in chaos.

Welcome to the abyss.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe

By Brian Nordli, Reno Gazette-Journal

South Tahoe heads into the season with added excitement.

The Vikings will play on new turf and with lights for the first time in school history. They’ve played a couple night games with portable lights before, but this will be their first season with permanent lights. Third-year coach Kevin Hennessee said it has brought a lot of energy to the preseason as the team prepares for its first home game on Sept. 2. Returning quarterback Tyler Nesbitt thinks it will be a boost to the team for home games.

“I think just for the football team, it’s going to be a whole new game because of the atmosphere,” Nesbitt said. “To me, it’s almost animal-like. You just have that boost of testosterone and want to hit.”

Last season, the team finished 3-7 and one game out of the playoffs. The Vikings often struggled in the second half of games. Hennessee noted that they didn’t always play with the speed or confidence to be consistent.

Hennessee said he expects them to improve on the issues from last season with the development of Nesbitt. With a second year under center, Nesbitt said he has become more comfortable and is prepared to take on a leadership role.

Nesbitt noted an increased intensity this summer. The team has done more offseason workouts and practices, which it didn’t do in the past. Hennessee said the team should have finished with a better record last season, but fell short because of turnovers. He is expecting the team to play with more speed on offense with Nesbitt in his second season.

“We’ve put a lot of expectation on the kids, and we’ve grown immensely,” Hennessee said. “We’ve got a bigger commitment in the offseason out of lifting, and they understand the offense. It’s been an aggressive summer.”

Read the whole story

The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, in collaboration with the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, is accepting applications for the 2011-12 Special Event Development Grant Program. The deadline to apply is Sept. 9 at 5pm.

The NLTRA has $50,000 available to award recipients to be used this fiscal year that ends June 2012, or next fiscal year, July 2012 to June 2013. The available funds are open to those with events planned for the Placer County/North Lake Tahoe region. The majority of grants awarded will be in the $500 to $2,500 range.

The Special Event Development Grant Program provides marketing and promotional support to special events or projects and programs that bring visitors to the region; generate local and regional business revenue; provide local and regional media exposure; and opportunities for public relations. Grants cannot be used for capital investments, salaries, operational overhead, food and beverage, entertainment and supplies. Since the funding for this grant program comes from Placer County Transient Occupancy Tax, through the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, the public revenue and other benefits generated must accrue principally to areas within Placer County.

The North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce staff will review all Special Event Development applications followed by a meeting with a specially appointed Task Force Sept. 14. If approved, the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association Board of Directors will then consider the grant applications, typically as a Consent Calendar item on its regular Board of Directors meeting agenda Oct. 5.

For more information about the Special Event Development Grant Program and/or a Grant Funding Criteria and Application Form, call Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764 or kym@puretahoenorth.com.

By Susan Wood

STATELINE – With singer, guitarist Miranda Lambert in the house, many could argue the Harveys outdoor concert stage was built for her the way she twirled, strutted, danced, rocked and sang her heart out for a capacity Lake Tahoe crowd Friday night.

The Texas native’s energetic performance never wavered – except to slow down for “The House That Built Me,” her poignant No. 1 hit about a country star returning to her childhood home to get grounded after living in the fast-paced music world. The ballad off her current and third album “Revolution” spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. At one point, she tested the audience by holding out the microphone. Many mouthed the words while video images in the background showed her childhood.

The lyrics: “I bet you didn’t know; underneath that live oak; My favorite dog is buried in the yard,” captures a touching song with meaning and soul that earned her a Grammy award for best female country vocal performance.

Miranda Lambert seldom stopped moving throughout her Aug. 19 show at Harveys in Stateline. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Music of heart and soul are as much about Lambert as her spiritual roots and dedication to her 4-month-old wedding vows, which she demonstrated with a duo with her country music star husband, Blake Shelton. The audience screamed as the couple performed “Who are You When I’m Not Looking.” The song provides a no-holds-barred view of a relationship that’s more realistic than a fairy tale – as in slamming doors or “eating a box of chocolates because you’re feeling bad.”

“How ‘bout that little surprise?” she asked the grateful audience after the two kissed and he exited. The famous Shelton-Lambert duo has collaborated before. This includes their work on Michael Buble’s touching hit song “Home,” which was also written for those seeking their roots.

Lambert appeared to feel right at home in Tahoe from the very beginning. In her last appearance, she opened for Kenny Chesney, and for Toby Keith before that.

“How’s Tahoe?” Lambert yelled out, before the featured act tipped her hat to her opening band Little Big Town. Before Lambert even arrived, the Grammy-nominated singing quartet provided a rousing performance with a country version of Lady Gaga, Nashville-inspired bluegrass and a tribute to being in a band with late-night waffle house trips for hash browns that are “Scattered, Smothered and Covered.”

Lambert related to those country roots – including an admission to being “one of those redneck chicks.” Country music star Gretchen Wilson’s ears must have been burning.

“This is for all the small town people in the house,” she said to introduce her “Revolution” tune “Famous in a Small Town.” A signed flashed Stateline’s population.

The audience was engaged most of the time through the concert. Most listened and even raised their glasses when she noted to the delight of living “now only two miles” from being able to buy beer in Oklahoma. In Texas where she was raised, beer was 30 miles away – inspiring the song “Dry Town” off her first album “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”

The show offered a unique blend of country music with a rock-style sound such as the on-stage rendition of “Dead Flowers,” her major hit “That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round” and country music award-winning “White Liar,” all off her latest “Revolution” album. Her lively dancing and guitar playing resembled a country version of Melissa Etheridge. She even gave tribute to Joan Jett, with a stirring version of “I Love Rock and Roll.”

Her personable side and appreciation for her fans came out when she signed autographs in the middle of a set. For the encore, she gave a nod to her opening band — having been there not long ago – by bringing up Little Big Town to sing John Fogerty’s smash hit “Traveling Band.”

While Lambert’s Revolution Continues tour moved on to Southern California, the shows from producers Another Planet rock on next month with Sammy Hagar for the Stateline’s outdoor concert series final summer concert.

To make a weekend out of one of the concerts, check out this story.

ngg_shortcode_1_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

South Lake Tahoe BMX Track final race and barbecue is Aug. 25 at 5pm.

Race fee is $5. Awards will be given to all riders. All ages, abilities and mountain bikes are welcome.

The track is located at 1100 Lyons Ave. in South Lake Tahoe.

For more information, call (530) 542.9337.